Due to various reasons, there are times when digital workers need to unplug from their email, phone calls, or other digital communications. For example, due to a vacation, during personal time, or because of other commitments, a digital worker may not be able to promptly respond to calls, emails, or text messages. At the same time, particularly in today's always-connected world, business cannot slow down or stop simply because a person is out-of-the-office or otherwise unavailable.
It is common practice for a digital worker to set an automatic reply when the worker plans to be out of the office, such as via an email application or outgoing voice message. While this can provide helpful information to a person trying to contact the digital worker, there can be several limitations. For example, the same message is often provided to all people attempting to contact the worker. As another example, the amount of information that the digital worker may need to provide to various contacts may be impractical, which can make it difficult for the worker's contacts to get the information they need. As another example, even when an automatic reply is provided, the digital worker may still need to monitor for emails or other messages that may be urgent or require some attention.
Being unable to promptly respond to communications can cause anxiety for the digital worker, who may be expected to or feel obligated to check and respond to communications. Additionally, a customer, manager, or other person trying to reach the digital worker may have an urgent issue or may become frustrated if he/she does not receive a prompt response from the digital worker.